Cultural Intelligence - the future of management!

Jun 17

Jun 17 Cultural Intelligence - the future of management!

Last week I was fortunate to attend the 37th edition of the LocWorld. The biggest event in the Globalization / Localization industry. It took place in Warsaw, a beautiful Central European city where its people treated us really good; they were super friendly with us, very warm. I'm really thankful to the lovely Polish people I met there! thank you guys!

In my post this week I bring a summary of the presentation we gave on How to develop your Cultural Intelligence? My talented and lovely colleague Maria Kania-Tasak (@MariaTaniaKasak) and I talked about what we believe is the future of management. Cultural Intelligence is like a superpower :) Do you want to know about how to develop this superpower? Well, I have great news for you! I have created an eBook which is a summary of the presentation we gave and it contains some reflections and tips to work towards the journey of developing our CQ. I hope you like the summary. Enjoy!

Click HERE to download the eBook

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Jan 24, 2026

Are you translating content or are you managing the content ?

For a long time, localization was treated as a pure execution task: translate fast, deliver on time, and stay invisible. That model worked when content volumes were lower and speed was the main challenge. As AI becomes part of everyday workflows, this approach is no longer enough. Translation itself is not the hardest part anymore. The real challenge is deciding what content deserves attention and how AI fits into the broader content ecosystem. This shift highlights a deeper change: moving from simply translating content to actively managing it.

Jan 16, 2026

Stop explaining Localization. Start explaining the impact.

Localization professionals often focus on translation quality and best practices, but decision-makers care about customer impact and revenue. If we frame localization as a cost, it risks being deprioritized. Instead, we must highlight its value driving engagement, trust, and business growth.

Jan 10, 2026

When one executive Localization stakeholder pushes to replace the TMS with LLMs ...

At a New Year’s Eve dinner with my family, I saw a familiar situation play out: someone speaking with strong confidence about something they only partly understood. In Spain, we call this el efecto cuñado. What I didn’t realize for a long time is that this behavior has a name in psychology too. It’s the Dunning–Kruger effect, and it shows up just as often in localization and AI conversations as it does at Christmas dinner tables.

Dec 13, 2025

Upskilling the Localization team for the next 5 years

This feels like a pivotal moment. Localization teams are being asked to support more markets, move faster, use AI responsibly, and show impact, not just output. Expectations are higher than ever, but many teams are still trained mainly for execution. We are strong at delivering localization work, yet we often struggle to move from output to outcome and to clearly explain the impact of what we do.

Dec 6, 2025

The real challenge in AI adoption in Localization isn’t the tech, it’s the pressure to pretend it’s already working

AI isn’t just changing tools, it’s changing expectations

Three years into working with AI in localization, I’ve seen the pressure build: automate faster, scale more, do it now.

But the real challenge isn’t the tech itself. It’s the gap between hype and reality , and what happens when teams are expected to act like everything’s already working.

In this post, I break down five common challenges that keep showing up, and what we can actually do about them.

Nov 29, 2025

Why Localization is one of the best alignment engines in a company

Words have the power to shape perceptions and influence actions, which is why reframing is such a powerful tool. In localization, we can reframe our role from simply translating to driving alignment across the company. By ensuring content is consistent, culturally relevant, and strategically aligned with business goals, localization professionals play a key role in helping businesses grow globally. This post explores how we create that alignment and why our work is much more than just translation.

Nov 19, 2025

What Localization metrics improve with a single-vendor model?

Choosing between a single-vendor or multi-vendor localization model is not only about price. The real difference shows up in the day-to-day metrics: turnaround time, quality stability, cost control, and how much coordination your teams need to do. In this post, I walk through the core metrics that tend to improve with a single-vendor setup, and how they can help you understand which model fits your localization strategy right now

Nov 10, 2025

Localization governance models that withstand change

Even when localization teams aren’t directly affected by a company reorg, everything around them can change fast sponsors move, teams merge, budgets shift.

That’s when weak governance shows its cracks.

This post explores how strong localization governance keeps programs stable, visible, and credible no matter how often the org chart moves.

Nov 8, 2025

Who’s buying Localization? Meet the 5 Personas you’ll work with (and what they need to hear)

Over the years, I’ve noticed that localization buyers, like the emotions in Inside Out, are often driven by one dominant need. Some are in survival mode, juggling too much. Others are just getting started and need guidance. Some care about speed, others about cost, and some are laser-focused on how things feel in-market.

Oct 31, 2025

The hidden price tag of Global Content: why per-word rates don’t tell the full story

Most localization discussions stop at per-word rates. However, what appears inexpensive on paper can often turn into costly delays, rework, and frustrated teams.

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) provides a more comprehensive view, one that encompasses engineering fixes, QA cycles, support tickets, and brand impact.

When procurement and leadership focus only on price, localization becomes a cost center. When they consider TCO, it becomes a key driver of quality and efficiency. And this post explains how to approach that

Jun 17 Cultural Intelligence - the future of management!

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